What I also find hilarious is that David Miller, tarred as a 'socialist' by thousands of comment-board mouth-breathers, is probably the most pro-development, pro-business mayor Toronto has had for forty years.
Further to my earlier points, I think one of the reasons Miller does inspire such foaming of the face among so many is that (idiotic Transit City aside) he sort of transcends Toronto's 'two solitudes.' He's from one of the hubs of Laytonesque leftydom and has the NDP credentials to prove it, but as noted above is staunchly corporate-friendly. He is passionate about Toronto as a metropolis and as a centre of culture and innovation. I don't think anyone can accuse him of being small minded, and the relative expansiveness of his vision drives some folks nuts. Too bad for them. The city gets better every year, and I do think that on some level we have to give the municipal government credit for that.
One other thing for which I admire Miller is his recognition that, if anything, Toronto suffers from too-much-consultation syndrome. The one thing that the Jack Laytons and Rob Fords of the city have in common is a profound fear of change, and a well-honed sense of how to use procedural tricks to block it. Every city has its NIMBYs, but ours are absolutely pathological. Take the Margaret Smith crowd: scream that streetcar lanes are going to take away roadspace for cars, have your concerns addressed by cuts in the width of the sidewalk, and then scream that pedestrians are being disadvantaged. That's Menendez-brothers stuff, and exploits the legacy of people like Jane Jacobs in a perverse way.
A lot of us are upset about the way that Transit City is being rammed through, but I think the history of planning in Toronto shows that that's the only way to get anything done, and Miller has figured this out.
One last point, regarding civic pride elsewhere in Canada. This goes to the point about Phoenix. I think self-regard is in some sense a function of aspirations. One thing that hasn't been often commented upon is how gracefully Montreal has settled into its second-city status. Apart from some Anglo backbiting, I don't get the sense that civic leaders or citizens there are anything but ecstatic to be among the Barcelonas and Melbournes and Munichs of the world. Montreal gave up on trying to be all things to all people a while ago, and as a result people are free to love it for what it is. Vancouver is even better off, having never had to fill such big shoes.
Due partly to our position as Canada's cultural and economic centre and partly due to our own genuine aspirations, we in Toronto don't have that luxury. That makes it painful when we fall short, and gives those from elsewhere with an axe to grind plenty of stones on which to do it.
